Photonics in Government

Photonics is becoming important to governments all around the world. Recently the European commission has acknowledged Photonics as an enabling technology. This is a result of the economic growth that is a result of Photonics research. In Europe, the Photonics industry directly employs 300,000 and has an estimated annual growth rate of 8-10%. In America, the government decided to invest $220 million to create the Integrated Photonics Institute for manufacturing innovation (IP-IMI); the sixth institute under his national network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). There are many opportunities that arise from supporting photonics research. The Research and Technologies that come as a result of researching photonics do not only help grow countries’ economies but they also help improve their National Security, Communications and Medicines.